A new species of Garcinia (Clusiaceae) from the middle Miocene of Fujian, China, and a phytogeographic analysis

摘要

Some well-preserved Garcinia leaves were collected from middle Miocene deposits from the Fotan Group of Zhangpu County, Fujian, southeast China. Based on leaf architecture and cuticular characteristics, a new species was established, Garcinia zhangpuensis sp. nov. The leaves were elliptic with an acute apex, they had a major secondary vein meeting an adjacent vein to form an intramarginal vein, and the stomata were elliptical or rounded. Fossil leaf characteristics were compared with those of extant and other fossil species hitherto described in this genus. Here, we present the first fossil Garcinia leaf from China and provide a detailed description of its cuticular characteristics. Based on the analysis of leaf architecture and cuticular characteristics, the present fossil leaves most closely resemble those of extant Garcinia tonkinensis leaves, a species that prefers a subtropical climate. Hence, we can infer that G.zhangpuensis lived during the Miocene under a warm, tropical to subtropical climate. Based on the global paleogeographic distribution of Garcinia, we infer that this genus might have originated from Gondwanan during or prior to the Paleogene.